LETTER TO MY PAST SELF

by DARLENE

Dear Darlene,

It’s okay. People will listen. I know it’s hard to trust, but it will get better.

Those names you write down. The people who make you suffer. It hurts to remember those horrid days still. You probably can’t tell from this, but my heart is beating and I can’t stop shaking.

Please, please, the list of people you wish were dead only intensifies the problem. It may seem like no one cares, sometimes it still seems that way, but there ARE ways, ways to survive.

The main thing you’ll remember is orchestra, those people who you confided in, but wish you actually told them the truth.

That you’re scared. No, I’m scared. I’m terrified to know why, why they called us names, what we did to make them despise us.

Trust me, it may not end, but it will get better.

You’ll be able to do things you never thought you could do.

You’ll want to live, to survive. So please, please, it’s okay to cry.

Love yourself,

Darlene